Happy March from our team at John's Automotive Care La Mesa! For this month's blog, we wanted to stray away from a typical automotive blog & highlight what we are doing to promote & increase our positive company culture. This topic is rarely discussed in the automotive world, despite its importance for all businesses. If you've ever been to either of our John's Automotive Care locations, you will likely have seen how important a positive work environment is for our team & our wonderful customers. As a company, our foundation is built upon giving back to the communities that raised us, specifically within John Eppstein, the owner of John's Automotive Care. John follows the "pay it forward" approach and credits this company mindset to our success.    What does "paying it forward" truly mean? Community building. If there's one thing our team does well (besides auto repairs) it's being ... read more

  Happy February from John's Automotive Care!  For this month's blog, we are highlighting our tips & guidelines for driving in the snow safely! If a winter adventure is calling your name, this blog is for you. Even if you love to play in the snow, your vehicle doesn't. According to the U.S Department of Transportation, "Over 1,300 people are killed, and more than 116,800 people are injured in vehicle crashes on snowy, slushy or icy pavement annually." Here are John's Automotive Care's tips for driving in the snow to help make your winter adventure easier & safer.    The prep begins before the driving; always remember to check roadway conditions, including chain controls, before you leave the comfort of your home with Caltrans QuickMap. Another at-home step is ensuring you have the right supplies for your adven ... read more

Happy January from John's Automotive Care La Mesa! It's hard to believe we are already in 2022. May this be a prosperous year for you and your loved ones. As we begin this New Year, our team wants to take the time to highlight a cause we find near and dear to our hearts & share with our community all the ways to be involved. We are a proud supporter of the San Diego community at John's Automotive Care. Our team of auto mechanics tries their best to ensure the San Diego roads are safe and secure by providing high-quality auto repair for our customers. We also actively give back in other ways as a team. If you participated in our December Toy Drive, we would like to thank you. John Eppstein, the owner of John's Automotive Care, follows the "pay it forward" approach, and he attributes his ongoing success to this mindset.  One of the Boy's & Girls clubs' most significant events is coming up so soon, Casino Night! Presented by John's Autom ... read more

Happy December to our John's Automotive Care La Mesa family! As we prepare ourselves for the most festive time of the year, it's essential to the team at John's Automotive Care La Mesa that we think of others during this time. Given the challenging times that the Covid-19 pandemic has brought, it's no surprise that millions of Americans will struggle this year to give presents to their loved ones & children. This is an issue that our auto repair team wants to solve.  Since 2001, John's Automotive Care has reached out to our loyal customers for the opportunity to give back to the community during the holiday season- with our annual Toy Drive! If you can help out a child in need during these times, please bring a new, unwrapped toy into our shop (at either location.) This helps provide toys for hundreds of children in our communities who may be going without anything for Christmas.  John's Automotive Care has partnered with the Boys & Girls Clu ... read more

  Happy November to our John's Automotive Care La Mesa customers; pardon us for saying a well-used phrase, but Winter Is Coming. Given our past knowledge of what winter road conditions can bring, there is no better time like a November blog to talk about all the ways you can protect & prep your vehicle for the upcoming winter months. Winter-proofing one's vehicle is key to saving you money and time in the long run! We present our top five ways to prepare your vehicle for winter.    Light Cleaning  Take a walk around the exterior of your vehicle. Check to make sure that all your headlights and taillights are clear and sturdy and the bulbs put out plenty of light. As we head into the darker months, visibility is critical. The polycarbonate material that makes up most headlights is often sun-damaged from the hot summer months. From scratches to UV rays beating down. Having your headlights or taillights cloudy significantly impacts your visibility on the ... read more

Happy October JAC La Mesa family!  With October comes a new blog for you! And what better way to tackle the "spookiest" month, by talking about all the scary sounds that can come from your vehicle. We will go through different haunting and intimidating sounds that can come from one's vehicle to prepare you for this spooky month! And to prepare you on how to tackle and handle them with the help of our auto repair experts at John's Automotive Care La Mesa. We now present our October blog, The scariest automotive sounds we've heard in a car! Please stop in and have one of our amazing customer service specialists go for a ride with you so we can pinpoint the noise that you are hearing.   Screeching- If you hear ear-piercing screeches that sound like nails on a chalkboard, there are a couple of things to do. First, it's crucial to determine where the screeches are coming from. Are they from the wheels and tires? It may be your brake pads, a wearable pa ... read more

As we welcome the month of September and the autumn days ahead, it's time to say goodbye to the foggy headlights that summer brought! Even if you take terrific care of the outside of your vehicle, chances are you will experience the "foggy" headlights we all despise.    Why do my headlights get "foggy" or "cloudy"? - Given that we are slowly coming out of those hot summer months, the sun's UV rays have been giving a solid beating to everyone's headlights. A chemical reaction occurs between exposed plastic covers and the sun's ultraviolet rays after time, mixed with outdoor particles and dust and boom, cloudy headlights. We can also blame water vapors for damaging your headlights. Most headlights come with a watertight sealant around them, but they can break down over time, leaving condensation to make its way into your headlights. Even more concerning than the aged look on your vehicle, foggy headlights dramatically impair the e ... read more

A tire bursting is no joke and can be a terrifying situation no driver wants to find themselves in. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported in 2003 that, of the 78,392 accidents that occurred due to a blown-out tire, 414 people lost their lives while nearly 15% (10,275 individuals) suffered non-fatal injuries. Thankfully, given new advances in technology, significant improvements in tire construction and early alert systems have helped reduce severe accidents due to tire blowouts. Even though improvements have been made, this type of emergency is still very possible. The team at John's Automotive Care La Mesa wants to prepare you for this situation with our August blog; having the proper knowledge of handling a burst tire is essential to your safety.    In most cases, there are four primary reasons why a tire blows out suddenly.    The tire was under-inflated. Tire overinflated.  A mecha ... read more

Extended warranties are a kind of service that drivers can purchase when their car's original manufacturer's warranty expires. It is not an extension of the manufacturer's warranty. This type of warranty is an optional type of warranty you pay into that will be used for future auto repairs to a vehicle's major systems. Extended car warranties, in the end, can save you major money if you ever run into significant car problems. While they can do this, about half of drivers see themselves never using their extended warranty or having a repair cost less than the warranty. In this case, it would make sense to just set aside money yourself for potential auto repair needs. But before making any decisions, it is crucial to understand the pros and cons of extended car warranties.    Pros 1.     Save Money  If you do need a costly repair, extended warranties could cover the repair. So, instead of paying the entire bill, you would only need to pay ... read more

    At JAC La Mesa, we know our California summers can get unbearably hot. We all know how the temperatures can go well beyond 100 degrees in the middle of the summer. With that being said, it's essential to have proper coolant and cooling running correctly in your vehicle for most, if not all, of the year! We wanted to discuss coolant and cooling so you can be prepared to get it fixed before that first unbearable summer heatwave.    First off, a well-maintained cooling system is critical for the engine of your vehicle for multiple reasons. The most important is keeping your engine operating safely and efficiently. With engine problems related to cooling, if they fail, it will lead to costly repairs. There are multiple reasons to do a pre-summer check for your cooling systems—one maintaining the hoses and connections and checking the fans and water pumps. We perform complete checks of your vehicle's cooling system to ensure everything is in tip-top ... read more